Finicky Eater

[greydad92]

Hello All,

Wow, it has been a long long time since I have posted. I own Mr. Spock, the now 9 year old greyhound.

I adopted him 2013. Spock is a mellow 75lb boy, not super active, very easy going.

Diet History:

Portions: 2 cups dry kibble with a little warm water mixed in and 1/3rd can wet food if needed

Most of the time Ive had him hes been eating Purina Pro Plan kibble and wet food

He stopped eating Pro Plan after a couple years, showing no interest, so switched to Purina Savor

He stopped eating Savor, turning his nose up at it, not eating, stomach growling loudly.

I added 1/2 can sardines to get him to eat, that worked for a couple months, stopped eating that, showing no interest, stomach growling loudly from not eating. It got bad enough (not eating) that I fed him hamburger and white rice for a week just to get him to eat at this point.

It was suggested to me to get him on healthier diet, switched to Fromm, I chose 4 Star. Fed him that for a couple months, now again turning his nose up at it. I think you all can see where Im going with this.

He has been to vet a few times, checks out ok, temp, weight, disposition. Hes pooping and peeing ok, attitude ok. The vet said if he doesnt improve they could check his pancreas?

This morning I gave him a couple scrambled eggs to get him to eat, which he did.

What to do? Should I start cooking human meals? Aka, eggs in morning, hamburger and white rice for dinner? Chicken? What about the nutritional factors?

I just dont know what to do and dont want to train or reward him to turn his nose up at food.

Help......and thanks in advance

[cleptogrey]

try, very slowly NUPRO supplement. start with 1/4 of a scoop, it's liver based, tons of good stuff in it and the fat content shouldn't affect his pancreas. just add water and you have gravel.i just purchased a 20# bucket of the stuff. chewy carries it at a good price. https://www.chewy.com/nupro-all-natural-dog-supplement-5-lb/dp/35632

 

i wouldn't keep on switching. also talk to your vet, is he maintaining his weight and how is his coat?

Edited December 24, 2017 by cleptogrey

[Time4ANap]

I'd have your vet run some blood work to see if there's some underlying thing going on.

 

Rocket has been eating the Pro Plan Focus for 1-2 years and loved it. All of the sudden he was leaving food in the bowl or not wanting to eat. It was a little more obvious to me that he also did not feel well. We did a lot of blood work to rule out things since he is 12, and the results came back with him having very early stage kidney disease. We switched him to a prescription Kidney Diet made by Purina and he was feeling better in a little over a week. There was a noticeable difference in his behavior and energy after starting the new diet. (I'm not saying this is the problem, just an example of how blood work can help since the problem seems to be ongoing)

 

Some hounds do get picky about their food as they get older and it can be a challenge. In the past when I had cook something like a bland diet, I would make a dozen scrambled eggs at a time and a huge bowl of mushy white rice. Both are easy to reheat in the microwave for meal portions. Also, when Rocket gets those squeals from an empty tummy, I usually end up giving him half a can of wet food first, then a few hours later he will usually eat kibble. Wet food is the only thing he wants when he has the tummy squeals.

 

Good luck!

[EllenEveBaz]

Just some additional ideas --

 

- give him a slice of bread or something else bland at bedtime to hopefully reduce morning gurgles

- over-the-counter reflux med (with vet's ok, of course)

- more exercise

[cmc333]

try, very slowly NUPRO supplement. start with 1/4 of a scoop, it's liver based, tons of good stuff in it and the fat content shouldn't affect his pancreas. just add water and you have gravel.i just purchased a 20# bucket of the stuff. chewy carries it at a good price. https://www.chewy.com/nupro-all-natural-dog-supplement-5-lb/dp/35632

 

 

I second the Nupro idea. I buy from Chewy also and my dogs think they have died and gone to heaven with this added to their food. I have a 15 year old that wasn't eating the way she should and now she loves her food.

[GeorgeofNE]

Stop allowing him to be finicky. A dog isn't going to expire if he elects to skip a few meals. But he's got you trained now, to give him something new when he decides he wants it!

 

Are you feeding him two cups TWICE a day, or only once? Cause I think 4 cups is too much for a retired dog of that age and activity level. If you meant once a day, I'd start feeding him twice a day so he doesn't go 23.75 hours between meals.

 

As a reference, my dog is a little smaller and a little younger, but I feed him one cup of food twice a day. No add ins except water. He does get treats, but all he needs to maintain his weight is two cups a day.

 

My mutt dog that I had years ago used to eat 5 cups of kibble a day. As he aged, it was gradually reduced to two cups, and two cups is what he ate his entire senior life. He was a 75 pound very active mixed breed, but every dog's metabolism is different.

 

It COULD be your dog is being over fed and he's just not that hungry, or he could be spoiled and likes variety!

[greydad92]

Stop allowing him to be finicky. A dog isn't going to expire if he elects to skip a few meals. But he's got you trained now, to give him something new when he decides he wants it!

 

Are you feeding him two cups TWICE a day, or only once? Cause I think 4 cups is too much for a retired dog of that age and activity level. If you meant once a day, I'd start feeding him twice a day so he doesn't go 23.75 hours between meals.

 

As a reference, my dog is a little smaller and a little younger, but I feed him one cup of food twice a day. No add ins except water. He does get treats, but all he needs to maintain his weight is two cups a day.

 

My mutt dog that I had years ago used to eat 5 cups of kibble a day. As he aged, it was gradually reduced to two cups, and two cups is what he ate his entire senior life. He was a 75 pound very active mixed breed, but every dog's metabolism is different.

 

It COULD be your dog is being over fed and he's just not that hungry, or he could be spoiled and likes variety!

I feed him 2 cups 2x per day. Mainting his weight just fine. 75lbs for a med/large boy

[greydad92]

Hi All,

So appreciate all your comments. Just an update, Im feeding him 2 cups cooked good quality basmati rice with lean rinced browned hamburger, about 1 cup of that. Im giving him this 2x per day and he is eating just fine, though is constipated so put 1tbs olive oil in his dinner tonight. Going to start to add cooked black beans to the mix as well for some more nutrition. Is this an ok diet to feed him if he likes it? Perhaps add multivitimin?

Edited January 8, 2018 by greydad92

[EllenEveBaz]

I don't feed a home-cooked diet except in medical emergencies -- I'm too lazy -- but as I understand it, getting the right nutrition in the long term is more complex than just balancing starch, meat, vitamin, and oil/fiber. You'll probably want to research it more.